Bilibili, cheers!

"Tarnished, let's go."

Istvan called out, and Tarnished picked Nepheli up in his arms. D and Fia followed close behind, while Bernahl brought up the rear, watching a room with tightly shut doors and keeping his guard up.

Gideon Ofnir was nothing but a clown. The one they truly needed to watch out for was the Two Fingers within Roundtable Hold. That literal "messenger of god" was the greatest threat. If a fight really broke out, even Bernahl had little confidence of winning.

The good news was that everyone made it safely back to the great Site of Grace in the hall. The Two Fingers never appeared, as though he had no objection to Tarnished and the others wreaking havoc in Roundtable Hold.

The bad news was that Gideon Ofnir started scheming again.

He soon noticed Bernahl's wariness of the Two Fingers. Knowing Bernahl would never attack first unless he had no other choice, he began showing off his petty cleverness once more.

"Are you really taking Nepheli with you?" Gideon Ofnir suddenly spoke just before Tarnished could leave through the Site of Grace.

"What, don't tell me you've only now decided to say you actually love Nepheli and can't bear to see your daughter leave?" Tarnished sneered.

"No, what I mean is... can you trust Nepheli?" Gideon Ofnir finally revealed his true intent. "Aren't you afraid this is an act Nepheli and I put on, with her suffering to gain your sympathy, all so she can get close to you and steal your Great Rune? You may not know how clever I am, but Istvan and Bernahl do. Ask them. It's hardly impossible."

Istvan and Bernahl both nodded. Nepheli said urgently, "I'm not... Tarnished, believe me!"

"Of course, this might be a ploy to sow discord, a way for me to make you distrust each other. But it might also be a double bluff. Perhaps I'm saying this deliberately so you'll think I'm trying to 'sow discord' and let your guard down around Nepheli." Gideon Ofnir asked, "Well, new master of Stormveil, are you willing to gamble?"

Everyone's gaze settled on Tarnished. Istvan and Bernahl both frowned deeply.

Gideon Ofnir's words were undoubtedly a masterful, open stratagem. With nothing more than a few words, he had planted a seed of doubt in Tarnished's heart. True to his name, Gideon Ofnir had no shortage of cunning plans. He had been a reliable comrade back then, but now that he had become an enemy, he would be extremely difficult to deal with.

Roundtable Hold fell silent. Everyone waited for Tarnished's answer.

If suspicion made him abandon Nepheli, his rampage through Roundtable Hold would become a joke.

If he chose to trust her and take her back to Stormveil, he might believe her, but would everyone else in Stormveil?

Everyone found the dilemma an enormous headache. Bernahl put himself in Tarnished's shoes and felt that he, too, would struggle to make a decision.

Nepheli also sank into despair. Gideon Ofnir's words had driven her into a corner again. Even if she returned to Stormveil with Tarnished, she had no idea how to face all those suspicious looks.

She looked at Tarnished, intending to ask him to put her down, but before she could speak, he started laughing.

Everyone was wondering how he could still laugh in the face of such a difficult choice when they saw him press a hand to his chest. A golden light surged out, and he caught it in his palm.

"The Center of the Elden Ring!"

Gideon Ofnir stopped breathing for a second.

Then he watched Tarnished casually toss that supreme, priceless great fragment of the Elden Ring onto the floor.

"This is what you want, right? It's yours." Tarnished scoffed. "Here, fetch!"

Everyone was shocked. Gideon Ofnir's pupils constricted and his heart pounded, but after the excitement came a profound sense of humiliation.

Nepheli said anxiously, "No! That's a great fragment of the Elden Ring! It's the purpose and ambition of us Tarnished. How can you throw it away so easily?"

Exactly. Everyone nodded. Wasn't the whole reason the Tarnished fought and died to gain the power of the Elden Ring and become the next Elden Lord?

How could Tarnished simply throw away something others would do anything to obtain?

Tarnished's answer was simple. Smiling at Nepheli, he said, "Because now I don't have to worry about you being a spy sent by Gideon Ofnir. Trust between companions is more precious than power."

Everyone froze. None of them had expected that answer, yet it won them over completely.

D and Fia grew even more determined to follow Tarnished. Diallos and the blindfolded prophet also saw him in a new light.

Bernahl burst into laughter. So what if he was Gideon Ofnir? No matter how hard he racked his brains, he couldn't match one casual toss from Tarnished. Strength came from wanting nothing, and benevolence knew no enemy. This was precisely what those sayings meant.

Istvan seemed to have expected this answer all along. He glanced at the Great Rune on the floor and asked Tarnished again, "You've decided?"

"Yes." Tarnished nodded and said without hesitation, "The world I want isn't one created by the Elden Ring."

"Then what will create it?" Nepheli asked.

"Everyone's strength, of course. All of us working together." Tarnished winked. "That includes you too, Nepheli!"

Looking at Tarnished's handsome face and listening to his strong heartbeat, Nepheli's breathing quickened.

She had never been happier, nor had she ever felt so hopeful about the future. Meeting Tarnished was the best thing that had ever happened to her!

"I will fight by your side. No matter how difficult the road ahead or what the outcome may be, you and I will never be parted!"

"That's right. We share the same goal, and we'll move forward together, never to be parted!" Tarnished looked at his companions. "Let's go home."

The great Site of Grace flickered, and Tarnished and the others vanished.

Gideon Ofnir awkwardly stepped forward to pick up the Great Rune. He was about to offer a few words to save face, but Diallos and the blindfolded prophet had already returned to their respective areas.

"..."

He had indeed obtained the Great Rune, the Center of the Elden Ring, the most important of its fragments. But what he had lost seemed to have exceeded his expectations.

Ensha was dead. D and Fia had left. Rogier and Nepheli would never return either. Roundtable Hold had never been particularly lively... and now it was even emptier.

Meanwhile, Tarnished's side was growing livelier by the moment.

Everyone appeared at Stormveil's Site of Grace.

Kenneth Haight and Rogier immediately came over to greet them.

"Did it go smoothly? You weren't hurt, were you?" Kenneth asked nervously.

Tarnished gave him a thumbs-up. "Smoother than fucking sandpaper!"

"Such vulgar language... never mind." Kenneth Haight sighed in relief and patted Tarnished on the shoulder. "All that matters is that you're back safe."

Tarnished felt the care behind those words. That was precisely the strength that kept him moving forward.

He had so much he wanted to say to everyone, but there were more important matters to attend to now.

"How are things at the Village of the Albinaurics?"

"It was indeed attacked. Edgar is fighting the attackers now."

"I'll head over right away," Tarnished said. "Roger, I'll leave D and Miss Fia in your care. Mr. Bernahl, Istvan, I'm sorry, but I'll have to wait until I return to thank you properly."

Rogier nodded. "No problem. It's my responsibility."

Bernahl waved a hand as well. "Saving lives can't wait. Go!"

"Right!"

Tarnished answered and tried to put Nepheli down, but she caught hold of his clothes. "Take me with you."

"But your condition?"

"I can still fight," Nepheli said. "In the past, I had no choice but to obey my foster father's orders. But from now on, I'll never stand by in the face of atrocities like these!"

Tarnished shook his head.

Nepheli hurriedly said, "I really can fight. Believe me!"

"I've always believed in you, Nepheli. I'm not shaking my head to refuse you. It's just..." Tarnished told her what had happened the last time. "I'm certain that even without me, even if you were still following Gideon Ofnir, you would never stand by and let something like this happen!"

Nepheli trembled, her grip on his clothes tightening.

"Let's go." Tarnished blew the Spectral Steed Whistle, and Torrent leaped out of thin air. Holding Nepheli, he swung into the saddle and said with effortless flair, "Let's put another regret to rest!"

Watching Tarnished and Nepheli ride away, D couldn't help asking Rogier, "Is he always like this?"

"Like what?" Rogier asked.

"Running all over the place for complete strangers, for no reason at all."

Rogier smiled.

"Yes, he's always been like this. And that's exactly why we follow him!"

The Village of the Albinaurics was a settlement perched atop a cliff.

As its name suggested, it was a village of Albinaurics. Like Living Jars, they were artificial beings, and thus had always been denied respect and treated with contempt. Even the poisonous pool beneath the cliff was thought to have been polluted by Albinauric blood.

When the attack began, the entire village fell into despair. They had never imagined that an army would come to save them.

"Protect the villagers and wipe out the raiders! Banished Knights, lead a unit east! Crucible Knights, lead a unit west! Everyone else, follow me in a frontal assault! Prioritize rescuing the villagers. Irina, the wounded are in your hands!"

"Yes, sir!"

A professional general gave professional orders to a professional army, and within moments, they had the situation completely under control. One by one, the villagers were rescued and brought to Irina and her medical team for expert treatment. These kindhearted girls had once been ordinary farm girls, but now they had become the gentlest of angels, casting healing incantations on the suffering Albinaurics and providing blankets to keep them warm and food to fill their stomachs.

"Ah, ah! Whose... army are you?" Alpas, the village chief, was a thin, withered old man. Holding his food helplessly, he voiced the question on everyone's mind.

"We're from Stormveil," Irina answered.

"Stormveil is Lord Godrick's castle. Did Lord Godrick save us?"

"No. The tyrant Godrick has been overthrown. Stormveil is now led by Tarnished."

"Lord Tarnished? I'll remember that." Alpas hesitated, but still asked, "Have you also come for the medallion?"

"I don't know what medallion you mean. Tarnished never mentioned one."

Alpas trembled even harder. "Then why... did you come to save us?" He remembered the customs of the Lands Between. Many factions used Albinaurics as laboratory rats. After all, they had never been considered people.

But Irina's answer was beyond anything he expected. Tilting her head, the girl asked, "Do you need a reason to save people? We heard you were being attacked, so we came."

Alpas froze, as did the other Albinaurics. So saving people didn't require a reason? So they could count as people?

Quiet sobs gradually rose around them. The Albinaurics had long grown accustomed to suffering. They hadn't cried when they starved, nor when they were cut open alive as test subjects. But now that they had been rescued and shown kindness, they could finally shed their tears freely.

Hearing them cry, Irina panicked and hurriedly asked, "Did I say something wrong? Or do your wounds hurt? Should we cast another healing incantation for you?"

Irina was about to call the girls from her medical team over, but Alpas respectfully caught the hem of her clothes. "There's no need. Our wounds no longer hurt. Honored lady, the Albinaurics will never forget everything you've done. Could I meet Lord Tarnished? I know it's terribly presumptuous for lowly creatures like us to ask, but even speaking from a distance would do. I want to thank him in person."

"I'm afraid not."

Alpas was overcome with disappointment. "Of course. We are Albinaurics, after all, lowly creatures denied the Erdtree's blessing..."

"That's not it." Irina interrupted him before he could finish. "The new Stormveil is made up of many different races. Among us, no one is born higher or lower than anyone else. As long as someone has kindness in their heart, we treat them with the same kindness. I'm refusing not because you're Albinaurics, but because Tarnished isn't here."

"No one is born higher or lower?" Alpas was stunned. He understood every word, but had never heard them put together like that. He had thought Lord Miquella's Haligtree was the only place where the Albinaurics could belong. He had never expected another to appear.

While he was still dazed, a commotion rose from below.

The Albinaurics huddled together like frightened birds.

Irina listened for a moment, then joy spread across her face. "Don't worry. It's not the enemy. Tarnished is here!"

"Lord Tarnished?"

Alpas looked up and saw a man riding Torrent arrive amid everyone's cheers.

The soldiers' joy was unmistakably genuine, their admiration almost tangible.

Alpas had no doubt that they loved this man from the bottom of their hearts. He had never seen such support before.

It came neither from faith nor from bloodline, but from genuine achievements. Not empty slogans and hollow promises, but real, practical deeds.

"Nepheli!" Irina cried happily. "I'm so glad you're all right!"

The two Crucible Knights also saluted excitedly. "Your Highness, welcome back."

Nepheli's eyes reddened. "I'm sorry I worried everyone."

Edgar smiled. "It's all right. All that matters is that you're back. Irina, please treat Nepheli."

"Of course." Irina recited a gentle prayer. Warm light bloomed from her hands, enveloping Tarnished and Nepheli.

"You're getting better and better, Irina," Tarnished praised her.

Irina blushed faintly. "I'm not capable of much. This is all I can do to help everyone."

It was precisely because they could not do everything that they needed to stand together.

And so everyone in Stormveil had come together, hand in hand and shoulder to shoulder.

Tarnished said no more. His companions shared his ambitions, and they already understood one another without words.

He asked Edgar, "What's the situation?"

"We saved most of the villagers, but a small number still... I'm sorry. If only we'd been a little faster."

"Everyone did their best. You're not the one who should be apologizing." Tarnished shook his head and asked, "What about casualties among our troops?"

"None," Edgar answered. "They were just a band of raiders. There was a Depraved Perfumer among them, but against the two Crucible Knights, he only lasted a few seconds longer."

"So all the enemies have been eliminated?"

"No. We drove their leader back, and he's now trapped on a cliff in the village." Edgar glanced at Nepheli. "I was worried things might not go smoothly on your end, so I kept him alive as a bargaining chip in negotiations with Gideon Ofnir. It seems I worried needlessly."

"Thank you," Nepheli said gratefully.

Edgar chuckled. "We're on the same side. No need for thanks."

"Save the pleasantries for the victory feast," Tarnished said. "Now that Nepheli's back safe, there's no need to keep that leader alive. The sooner we finish, the sooner we can call it a day."

"Let me do it." Nepheli took a deep breath. "Whatever happens, please let me do my part!"

"I knew you'd say that." Tarnished took out two Flasks of Crimson Tears, one for himself and one for Nepheli.

"Cheers?"

Nepheli paused, then broke into a smile. "Yes, cheers!"

The brave warrior accepted the Flask of Crimson Tears and lightly clinked it against Tarnished's. With a clear chime, they both drained their flasks as though savoring the finest wine.

"I left my weapon at Roundtable Hold." Tarnished gripped the Manor Towershield with both hands. "I'll defend. Nepheli, I'm counting on you to attack."

"No problem." Nepheli drew the Stormhawk Axes from her waist, and lightning began coiling around her hands. "From this day forward, Nepheli Loux will be Tarnished's blade, cutting down every obstacle in your path!"